Eavesdropping At The Movies

Ne Zha, a Chinese animated film, holds the record for the biggest box office in a single market (having made over $700m in China), but Mike isn't that impressed with it, comparing it to the likes of Ice Age. José had a better time, though asks himself why he overlooks some of its more questionable elements, including a rather homophobic running joke that just doesn't go away. But there's a certain flair and thoughtfulness to some of its visual design and characterisation that we appreciate, and it gives us food for thought. Discussing Ne Zha leads us into a conversation about British film culture as it relates to foreign language cinema. It's not impossible to see foreign language films in Birmingham - though Ne Zha making it to Cineworld, as opposed to the Electric or mac, is notable - but outside London, the kind of culture that European and South American countries have of showing films from other countries as a matter of course in the main cinemas just doesn't exist here. In going through our list of pod